Follow your dreams, one step at a time!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, I drove down to San Diego State University with butterflies in my stomach and a prayer in my heart. It was time. Time to do what, you ask? Time to take my American Counsel on Exercise (ACE) Certification to become a personal trainer. I knew I had studied but felt the only way I could pass the test was by the grace of God. He was the reason I embarked on this journey in the first place. This was HIS idea and I was just being obedient! I relied a lot of Phillippians 8:13 which says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and Romans 8:28 which says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Now, if this was, indeed, his calling/purpose for me, then how could I fail? I did my part by studying my behind off but I still felt that ONLY with God, could I do this.

So, when I finally went into the room to take my exam, I knew this was it. This was the time to shine for the Lord. There were 150 questions that were taken on a computer. There was a 3 hour time limit. And so the test began. It was brutal because of the sheer length. It took me about 2 and a half hours to complete the test. I am NOT a slow test taker! So, this lets you know just how time intensive the questions were and 150 questions is A LOT OF QUESTIONS!!! LOL!! The test made me feel like I didn't know very much! Every time I would come to a question that I had not even a guess as to what the answer was, I would just call on Jesus to help me chose the right answer. The test would have driven me crazy if it wasn't for my faith!

Finally, when I finished answer all of the questions, it was the moment of truth. I said a prayer and clicked on the "Submit Exam" button with my heart beating more rapidly and those butterflies came back and BOOM. There was a survey! Haha! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! Just give me the results already! So, I answered the survey questions and now my heart was beating harder and there were more butterflies in my tummy and a slight shake in my legs. I submitted my survey and POW!!!! I PASSED!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!! I was so happy and relieved that I almost started crying. This was such a journey of obedience, discipline and faith. The Lord had blessed me and I give Him all of the glory!!! ALL OF IT!!

A journey that started out in December of 2009 on the publication day for "The Spark" I purchased the materials and they arrived on January 8, 2010. I posted a blog about it here: www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=2717066 ; and here we are a year and a half later and the outcome of the journey has come full circle. I couldn't be more excited to see what the Lord has in store for me next. There was a reason for this but sometimes we just have to take things one step at a time and have faith that God knows what He is doing. I trust you, Lord! Lead me!

If you have a dream, go for it!!!! YOU CAN DO IT! Really, you can. Believe in yourself and try. I was so very worried I was going to fail but I KNEW I couldn't let that happen. I knew I was going to have to be discipline in studying on my own. I knew it was going to be hard and it was worth it!!! Every moment with my nose in the book, every time I didn't want to and I did it anyways. I don't regret it! Don't live your life with regrets!! Go out there and try. You will never know what type of a success you could have been if you don't try!

Congratulations my friend! I know firsthand how hard it is to keep on studying, to try to learn it all on your own, and oh! the nerves on test day!! You earned it, not just by passing the exam but by living this life, gaining the experience you will need to help others on their journey.

You are going to be a fantastic trainer!! Can't wait to "talk shop" with you